Packaging machines

ABSTRACT

DEFORMABLE ARTICLES, E.G. TEXTILE ARTICLES, ARE PACKED BY LAYING A LENGTH OF ADHESIVE OR PART-ADJESIVE TAPE ACROSS THE ARTICLES, BLOWING THE ENDS OF THE TAPE ARPUND THE EDGES OF THE ARTICLES BY MEANS OF COMPRESSED GAS JETS AND COMPRESSING THE ARTICLES AND TAPE BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER PRESSURE PLATES SO AS TO ADHERE THE TAPE EITHER TO THE ARTICLES OR TO ITSELF.

Oct. 26, 197] A. H. CROUCHER PACKAGING MACHINES Filed Aug. 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.|.

INVENTOR ANTONY HARRY CROUCHER ATTORNEYS Oct. 26, 1971 A. H. CROUCHER 3,614,349

PACKAGING MACHINES Filed Aug. 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ANTONY HARRY CROUCHER ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,614,849 PACKAGING MACHINES Anthony Harry Croucher, Homewood, 12 Pine Bank, Tower Road, Hintlhead, England Filed Aug. 18, 1969, Ser. No. 850,902 Int. Cl. B65b 13/02, 13/20; 1565c 1/04 US. Cl. 53-3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Deformable articles, e.g. textile articles, are packed by laying a length of adhesive or part-adhesive tape across the articles, blowing the ends of the tape around the edges of the articles by means of compressed gas jets and compressing the articles and tape between upper and lower pressure plates so as to adhere the tape either to the articles or to itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention consists in a method of making a package of articles, comprising cutting a length of adhesive or part-adhesive tape, laying it across the articles to be packed, blowing one or both ends of the tape around the edges of the articles with compressed air or another gas, and compressing the articles and tape between upper and lower pressure plates so as to cause the tape to adhere to the articles or to itself.

The invention further consists in apparatus for packing articles including a platform adapted to support the articles to be packed at the edges thereof, upper and lower pressure plates adapted to compress said articles, compressed air jets adapted to blow a length of adhesive tape around the edges of the articles and triggering devices for said air jets and lower pressure plate.

The lower pressure plate is preferably formed in two halves which are pivoted about one end and which are adapted to fold up underneath the package so as to wrap the adhesive tape around the articles.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a textile-packing machine according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, the view looking in the direction of the arrows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to 'FIGS. 1 and 2, the textile articles to be packaged e.g. a pair of hose 2a are placed flat on a platform 1 provided with an aperture 1a. A length of adhesive or part-adhesive tape 2 is cut and laid across the articles to be packed. A pressure plate carrier 3 is then lowered by means of a hydraulic ram 4-. The carrier 3 "ice is lowered until triggering devices 5 carried on pivoted arms 6 meet the resistance of a plate 7, and an under slung plate 7a supports one end of the articles to be packed across the aperture. The plate 7a is somewhat shorter than the plate 7 so that recesses are provided for the arms carrying the triggering devices 5. The arms 6 then pivot about points 8 thus causing compressed air jets 9 fed by channels 10 to be actuated.

The action of these jets causes the ends of the tape 2 to be blown around the sides of the textile material.

The impingement of the devices 5 on the plate 7 causes lower pressure plates 11 to pivot about the points 8 and to move towards a horizontal position underneath the textile package thus pushing the adhesive tape around underneath the package. Further action of the hydraulic ram 4 causes an upper pressure plate 12 to descend into contact with the textile articles and the package is thus compressed between plates 11 and plate 12 to press the adhesive tape into a sealing position. The package is then removed from the platform 1.

Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. Thus, for example, one of the pressure plates 11 may be locked in its starting position so that the adhesive tape is wrapped around only one edge of the article to be packed. This is particularly useful when the tape is to be used as an end-over clip for instance to attach a pair of socks together.

I claim:

1. A method of making a package of flexible articles which method comprises the steps of (a) cutting a pre-determined length of at least partadhesive tape and laying the length of tape across the articles to be packed (b) blowing at least one end of the tape around at least one edge of the articles by means of compressed gas jets without wrinkling the tape or articles (c) moving a lower pressure plate from above the articles to a position underneath the articles for pushing the tape around underneath the articles, and

(d) compressing the articles and tape between an upper and the lower pressure plates so as to cause the tape to adhere to the articles or to itself.

2. Apparatus for packaging flexible articles comprising (a) a platform adapted to support the articles to be packed at the edges thereof (b) upper and lower pressure plates mounted above the platform for movement relative to the platform and adapted to compress said articles between said plates (c) compressed gas jets, adapted to blow the ends of a length of adhesive tape laid across said articles around the edges thereof without wrinkling the tape or articles and (d) triggering devices for activating said gas jets and pressure plates.

'3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the lower pressure plate includes two halves, each half being pivoted about a point near one end of each half and which are adapted to move into a horizontal position underneath the package thus pushing the adhesive tape around underneath the articles.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3- in which one half of the lower pressure plate can be locked in its starting position, so that it does not move into a horizontal position underneath the articles to be packed.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including a carrier mounted for upward and downward movement relative to the platform, said carrier supporting the upper and lower pressure plates, said lower pressure plate including two halves, means pivotally mounting each half to the carrier for movement toward each other to a horizontal position underneath the articles for pushing the tape around underneath the articles, arms carried by the pivotal mounting means, said triggering devices being carried by said arms, activating means for said triggering devices associated with the platform, and means to raise and lower the carrier so that on lowering movement, the triggering devices coact with the actuating means to move the two halves of the lower pressure plate to a horizontal position underneath the article for pushing the tape around underneath the article and thereafter move the upper pressure plate into contact with the articles for compressing the articles between the upper and lower pressure plates and pressing the tape into a sealing position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,261,833 4/191 8 Malocsay 156-492 X 2,204,219 6/1940 Jahne et a1. 53l98 3,001,660 9/1961 Carter 156444 FOREIGN PATENTS 596,957 4/1960 Canada 53198 TAERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

